Halifax County supervisors to consider appointments

SoVaNow.com / November 05, 2012

Halifax County supervisors have no public hearings on the agenda for their meeting tonight. The supervisors will convene beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the second floor meeting room of the Mary Bethune Complex.

Supervisors will make several appointments during the evening, including a representative to serve on the Board of Directors of The Prizery. Supervisors requested a Prizery board representative after approving a one-year $60,000 loan to the performing arts center in October.

Supervisors are also expected to name two members to the newly formed Library Advisory Committee, which was formed to study the future of the local library system, including the possibility of consolidating the Halifax and South Boston branches at one site. The new county representatives will join two recently named members from South Boston Council, Ed Owens and Bill Snead, and two others to be named by the Halifax Town Council. The panel will have six members.

Supervisors also expect to receive a report from YMCA Director Marcus Hargrave, who will give an update on the programs and activities that the YMCA offers to the residents of the county.

The Industrial Development Authority is asking the supervisors to approve a local $150,000 match for a $1.3 million grant it is seeking from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. The IDA is spending $42,000 out of its budget to put up matching funds for the grant, which will be used for the next phase of renovation work at Green View (the former Daystrom building).

The estimated cost of the Phase II work is $1,492,000, which includes the design, bid, award and contract expense for the project. The sum also includes the cost of replacing 140,000 square feet of roof, installation of heating, cooling, plumbing and emergency and back up lighting in the space for advanced manufacturing training, and the expansion and upgrade of water, sewer and other utilities. It also includes the construction of a driveway apron, truck entrance and front and part of the east lot parking. Other items included in the estimate are the grading, landscaping and seeding of the front parking and entrance and the construction of a front entrance and canopy.

In another request before the Board of Supervisors, sponsors of the Serenity Garden located in Edmunds Park are asking that a stage be built there which would support other events such as weddings and public activities. The Recreation Department which oversees the park’s operations recommends that the request be approved.

Also, Dr. Merle Herndon, superintendent of Halifax County schools, is requesting that the podium in the boards’ meeting room be reconstructed in a semi-circular shape as opposed to the current linear layout. This change, she points out, would allow members to see each other during meetings and better hear the comments of those seated at opposite ends of the table. Herndon has offered school personnel and financial resources to reconstruct the podium and is asking that up to $2,000 be provided by the supervisors to complete the project.

Also, County Administrator Jim Halasz is recommending that the Board consider accepting terms of a state aviation grant which would allow for the relocation of the fuel system at the William M. Tuck Airport. The grant would cover 80 percent of the cost of the project with a maximum contribution of $31,308. Halasz says the grant offer must be approved by December 5.

Supervisors also have several vacancies on boards and commissions that need to be addressed, including a spot in ED#7 on the Improvement Council, a seat on the Southside Regional Group Home Commission and a member on the Southside Community Services Board, a vacancy on the Transportation Safety Commission and a vacancy on the Lake Country Area Agency on Aging.